US strikes al Shabaab training camp in Somalia, more than 150 killed

The United States has carried out an air strike in Somalia, killing more than 150 fighters with the al Qaeda-linked group al Shabaab, following US intelligence on preparations for a large-scale militant attack, the Pentagon said on Monday.

The weekend strike using both manned and unmanned drone aircraft targeted al Shabaab's "Raso" training camp, a facility north of the capital Mogadishu, the Pentagon said.

The U.S. military said it had been monitoring the camp for several weeks before the strike and had gathered intelligence, including about an imminent threat posed by those in the camp. "We know they were going to be departing the camp and that they posed an imminent threat to US and to Amisom, African Union mission in Somalia forces, that are in Somalia," said Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis.

New York gives transgenders free use of toilets

New York shored up its reputation Monday as a bastion of liberalism by insisting that transgenders be granted free access to the toilets of their choice.

The order, signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio and effective immediately, means that city employees and members of the public can access whichever single-sex toilet they prefer without having to show ID or any form of gender proof.

"Access to bathrooms and other single-sex facilities is a fundamental human right that should not be restricted or denied to anyone," said de Blasio.

'Dentist of horror' on trial for tearing out teeth and mutilating French patients

The trial of a Dutch man dubbed the "dentist of horror" after allegedly mutilating the mouths of more than 100 patients in France was scheduled to open on Tuesday.

Jacobus van Nierop, 51, ripped out healthy teeth and left dozens of patients in a remote French village with broken jaws, recurrent abscesses and septicaemia.

He is charged with aggravated assault as well as fraud over claims that he tried to rip off patients and insurance companies, and faces up to 10 years in prison and a 150,000 euro ((S$227,792) fine if found guilty.

Family takes Belgium to Europe rights court over Paris attacks

The parents of a man killed in the November attacks in Paris have asked the European Court of Human Rights to rule whether "serious dysfunctions" by Belgian authorities violated his "right to life", their lawyer said on Monday.

Valentin Ribet, a 26-year-old lawyer, was among the 90 people massacred at the Bataclan concert hall in the terrorist attacks of Nov 13.

His parents believe that "serious dysfunctions arose in the Belgian protection and surveillance system that facilitated the terrorists' infiltration into French territory and the commission of these crimes," the Ribets' lawyer Samia Maktouf said in a statement.

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